>> cenk: you might have noticed there are changes in the network. and by the way those who are watching and stayed with us, we appreciate t and we love you for it. keep watching, and we'll bring you great stories coming forward. the reason coming up, "viewpoint" hosted by john fugelsang. john is a terrific host. we did all the convention coverage together, the debates together. he's going to have a terrific show ahead for you tonight and going forward. so check that out right now. >> john: tonight on "viewpoint"," the g.o.p. demonizes our own chuck hagel for the sin of being right about the iraq war. president obama's nominee for c.i.a. endorses drone strikes that kill innocent people so his nomination should breeze right through. and tomorrow is the anniversary

of gabby giffords of being shot and tomorrow is the anniversary of nothing being done about gabby give ford's gifford's being shot. we have all that ahead. >> john: good evening, i'm john fugelsang, and this is "viewpoint." president obama announced nominations for two key members of his national security team. perhaps the only surprise is that republicans seem to find one of them acceptable. of course it's the guy that signs up on drone strikes. the candidates are chuck hagel for secretary of defense and white house counterterrorism adviser john brennan for the director of c.i.a. as the president put t they did not seem too travel. >> obama: chuck hagel's leadership would be historic. he would be the first person of enlisted rank to serve as secretary of defense. one of the few secretaries who

have been wounded in war and the first vietnam veteran to lead the department. in john brennan, the men and women of the c.i.a. will have the leadership of one of our nation's most skilled not to mention the smarts and strength that he claims comes from growing newspaper new jersey. >> john: that seemed like a nice chris christie shout out for john brennan. chuck hagel, according to our republican friends include opposition to the iraq war search and wanting diplomacy to threats in iran. he mentioned the jewish lobby and hints, i'm quoting a jewish problem. here are how three gap leaders g.o.p.

leaders describe the nominee. >> he's wrong on the national issues that face our country today. >> this is an in your face for those who support israel. >> he has consistently opposed sanctions over and over again. >> john: always great to hear lindsey graham talk about taking it in the face. and the neo-con echo chamber is adding to the clamor, as in this ad. >> president obama secretary of state chuck hagel is not a responsible option. >> john: and really when was bill kristol really wrong about anything. and another stumble on the way to the pentagon was his lgbt rights. he rejected james hormel to be ambassador to luxembourg with frankly offensive comments. hagel told a local newspaper

i'm quoting ambassadorial posts are sensitive. they're representing america. they're representing our lifestyles values and standards, and i think it's an inhibiting factor to be openly, aggressively gay like mr. hormel to do a better job. this was the late 90s and toxic homophobia was very common common, hagel has apologized for those remarks and said as secretary of defense he will support open service and lgbt military families. now the log cabin republicans the lgbt gay advocacy group did not seem too impressed. they put out an ad chuck hagel hagel's apology, too little, too late. james hormel, the man hagel rejected and slandered had a very different take. quote, senator hagel stated in his remarks that he was willing to support open military service and lgbt military families.

if that is a commitment to treat lgbt services members and families like everybody else, i would support his nomination. starting with hagel i'm joined by joel rubin director of policy and government affairs of the now shares fund and a congressional aide that worked closely with senator hagel's staff. thank you we're glad to have. >> you thank you for having me. >> john: were you surprised by this nomination? >> i was not surprised by this nomination. primarily because we heard of it over the last several weeks. senator haig settle hagel is a leader of independent mind, he has a deep background in foreign policy and matters. he has two purple hearts. this was a gutsy nomination by the president to put him forward. this is where the policies align very well with the president and

that's what the american people asked for in the election in november. >> john: how much of this criticism has to do with mr. hagel and how much is directed at president obama. >> right now there is a battle within the republican party for the direction of their foreign policy. there are realists and chuck hagel comes from that camp. and then there are the neo-conservatives, lindsey graham start from south carolina, bill kristol more of that camp. chuck hagel opposed the surge in iraq quite vocally in 2007 and for that he has been seen as a bit an outlier in foreign policy republican foreign policy circles. we're going to see this play out in the next several weeks. >> john: let's talk about the specific controversy. what is chuck hagel's specific record when it comes to israel.

>> he has been a long and historyic supporter. he has voted for sanctions against iran and advocateed for diplomat i canic approaches. this mirrors what the american people want. he has consistently supported aide to israel's military and he has great credibility amongst israeli leadership and even the israeli government said last night they don't want to get in the middle of this fight. this is something for the american people to decide, but his record with israel, and we'll see during these hearings will come out and it will be very strong and seen as a positive one. >> john: here is a man who has been to war and is being questioned by men who never wore the uniform in. >> this is a man who bled for his country. he had been in vietnam. he served with distinct. he received two purple hearts. he ran the uso supporting our

troops and their families overseas. he understands what it's like to serve in the military, and that creates wisdom. we need that kind of wisdom at the top of the pentagon. these are tough times. we have many security challenges with the war in afghan afghanistan, and we have a fiscal crisis here at home. chuck hagel gets how to deal with these issues, and he's the kind of leader that we need at this critical juncture. >> john: you worked with him. what kind of guy is he? >> i worked with his staff when i worked in the senate. i was a democratic aide, and we worked across body lines on veteran bills bills to support military healthcare, they were straight. they were honest. when they said what they wanted to do, one could count on that, and we were very effective together. since then he has been involved with my organization and a

strong voice on international issues he's an independent thinker and gives straight talk. that's what we really need in leadership in our country. >> john: please stay here, and we'll welcome joe williams, sam seder, thank you, gentlemen, great to have you. let me put it out to you. what do you think sam and joe do you think the g.o.p. option opposition to hagel the same as against obama he's soft on iran? >> it's partly that. there is also maybe perhaps some resentment towards hagel for being a little bit of a natural genuine maverick. i'm a he not saying that coincidentally, but this is the republican party trying to set upup the parameters of what the oh obama foreign policy is going to be in the years to come.

they're concerned that the obama administration is going to start to take a more stringent line with israel, and frankly to israel's benefit in my estimation. so i think this is as much about precluding where they see the obama administration going as it is about this nomination. >> john: and that he wants to change the pentagon on an constitutional level. joe, your thoughts? >> well, my thoughts, yes that's exactly right. he's going to change the pentagon as an institution because as a former senator he knows the ins and outs of how the budget process works knows how to get the numbers down. he and obama are kindred spirits. and they both kind of have the same world-view. they both are willing to be contrary to their own party loyalties. they're both willing to do the tough decisions to make

decisions that won't necessarily be popular with their own people and get it done for the good of the country. so i think hagel brings credibility to that position, not only as somebody who has been a long-time public servant but someone who understands military culture and who has actually been there. that credibility is going to go a long way. i think from the white house perspective this could be a bit of muscle flexing for the second-term president not to repeat the mistakes of the first term. >> john: i would love to ask you your thoughts on the log cabin republicans. i love gays for the g.o.p. it's like vegetarian for meat. could it be more critical? mr. hormel himself, he never got to be ambassador mr. hormel himself has forgiveen hagel. >> it's in their mission statement to a degree, but you have something here that is almost an incidental

controversy. president obama would not have nominated chuck hagel if he didn't do some note counting in the senate to get past the initial rounds and get his person in office. but secondly, if the person who has taken the offense forgives the person who has offended him what else is there to talk about. we have hagel has full defense of gays in the military, from that perspective. it seems that there is nothing more to talk about. >> john: do you think senator hagel's views on iran and israel are out of the mainstream? >> the point of lindsay graham's arguments is that he should point chuck hagel's views track with the president.

the president supports a strong relationship with israel has a deep respect for israeli needs an provides aid to israel for its defense and engages diplomacy to resolve the conflict between israel and the palestinians. with iran, we need a resolution that can be counted on and sustainable. that's going to require a negotiated process. that's what the international community wants. there are no advocates in israel getting traction. even the israeli government themselves say they don't want military action against iran. the policy the president is pursuing ratified by the american people, and showing how he's endorsing this in the person of chuck hagel this is where we need to go, and this is the mainstream policy. >> john: before we go to break do we expect a fight with susan rice. he must have known that this would have come with chuck

hagel. >> yes, joe mentioned this. this will drive a wedge in the republican party. there is not only a realist perspective in the republican party in terms of foreign policy and a neo-con one but there is a growing isolationist in the republican party and this fracture is about republican coalition. in that regard i think there is an opportunity for a fight. at the end of the day this appeals to sort of i think in many respects president obama's favorite constituency, which is the beltway media. this idea bipartisanship and this notion of having a republican sort of daddy figure in some respects filling this role is very appeal to go part of the beltway media. so i think this is--to the extent that this is going to be a fight, i think it's one that he's looking forward to. >> john: if hagel is the daddy

figure then the nominee is the cheney figure. the c.i.a. boss is the same as the old c.i.a. boss coming up next. [ male announcer ] the exclusive air suspension in the 2013 ram 1500. ♪ ♪ engineered to move heaven and earth. ♪ ♪ guts. glory. ram. the new ram 1500. motor trend's 2013 truck of the year.

>> john: if the upcoming showdown of the chuck hagel nomination is the main event, then the underwhelming under car is john brennan as director of the c.i.a. brennan, a chief counter counterterrorism official is expected to easeily coast to the nomination. this despite to his role in the architect administration's every broadening ever unpopular drone warfare program. he's also the final filter on the kill list. he's the man who brings targets directly to president obama for an official sign off. maybe the partnership is not dead at all as long as it doesn't come with warning from high above with aircraft and minor civilian casualties.

with us again is sam seder, joel rubin, and political reporter joe williams. i want to thank all of you for sticking around. john brennan has that kind of "i have killed a man for less than this" look. i'll begin with you joe he is considered such a natural to cruise to an easy appointment? >> this is a policy generally accepted in washington, the drone policy, but there is significant opposition and concerns being raised time and again by congress as well about it. the hearings that brennan has will be very interesting because it will be the first time in public public viewfull public view we'll have more verification about it. brennan is a long-time c.i.a. officer. what the president has done is

in essence put two grunts who worked at the working level of these departments be it chuck hagel as an enlisted man and john brennan. they'll be able to move the agencies in the direction that the president wants to go. the drone program is one part of the broader part of counterterrorism that brennan will be responsible for. >> john: taking nothing away from brennan's extensive service and service to his country, it seems that a whole bunch of american haters are created. where is the debate about the drone program. besides liberal blogs is anyone in d.c. having a debate about the merits of it? >> well, no, and that's troubling on a couple of levels. when john brennan's name first came up in president obama's first term, he was roundly panned for helping advise the

bush white house about enhanceed interrogation. he rejects that. he said he was not in favor of that, nonetheless he had to withdraw his nomination due to an outcry about that. the fact that there is not a lot of people talking about drone warfare indicates we've settled into a new normal where people have come to expect this. even the lawmakers are not putting much heat on it, and it gives us an opportunity to see how far down that road we've gone. is it like taking your shoes off at the airport having someone listening to your phone calls is it something that we accept in the name of security, the problem it's created to solve is creating more of a problem and more concerns that we should be worried about. theit will be interesting to hear where the senate has come down on it, the left, which is very muted, and the public view about a program that people pretty

much accepted with a shrug because it comes from obama and not bush. >> john: does the fact that he has killed lots of terrorists cancel out that he may have tortured some. >> yes, that some how he has cleansed himself by instituting a kill list and engaging in this semi covert, less than transparent warfare, some how cleanses him of his involvement in the torture regime under bush. it's horrible enough. but you know, the notion that even--and you see it reported all the time. he's only killing terrorists or insurgents. and we know now that the definition of militants the definition of insure insurgents is basically anyone who has been hit by one of these drone strikes. it's stunning the lack of

outcry. i would like to think that there is going to be tough questions about this in the senate. i have absolutely no doubt that there won't be any real tough questions. particularly, we won't hear anything about his role in the bush administration'sing toture program. it's rep reprehensible. >> you may be for president president obama, and then put quotation marks for the nobel peace prize. >> while he inherited a certain program he had the opportunity to put the brakes on it, and he has enhanced it, codified it and brought it in with a legal reregime and that does not make it better. due process does not necessarily have to be judicial according to

the justice department, so this is president bush. president problematic problem. >> i submit a lot of low key discourse about this is because it's not happening present in front of us but its happening over there. we accept the fact that americans always kill the bad guys. even president president obama with the quoteed peace prize he's doing this to keep america safe. we're willing to suspend a lot of disbelief if we believe that's what is happening. and there is a lot of reporting and facts to indicate not so much. but because we're willing to buy into this, we're willing to accept it and let a lot of this fly, i think the hearings will tend to bring out how much we're willing to let go and how far down the road we've gotten, and whether or not there is time to pull back from that. >> john: in light of the two nominations it willen tougher for the g.o.p. or the corporate media to call this president a

liberal. joe williams, directorjoel rubin, joe williams, and the great sam seder. thank you for your time tonight. sam will hang around and come back later on in the show. after the newtown connecticut massacre, gun supporters are telling us they're the real victims. out for us.

rich, chewy caramel rolled up in smooth milk chocolate. don't forget about that payroll meeting. rolo.get your smooth on. also in minis. >> john: was on december 14th that adam lanza

broke into sent hook elementary school and murdered 26 people including 20 children. you'll recall a nation along with president obama who vowed this time it would be different. this time as a country we would react. over this weekend possible pieces of legislation were leaked. in addition to banning assault rifles and high capacity magazines, the proposal would require universal background checks for all gun sales create a national unified database, and stiffen the penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors. despite the fact that no one has talked about taking anyone's gun away ever, ever, and with the tragedy at newtown fading from consciousness, they're fighting

back. >> it was horrible to see what happened there. to see 20 children, six adults murdered, but within minutes we saw politicians run out and try to exploit the tragedy try to push their political agenda of gun control. i do not support their gun control agenda for two reasons. number one it's unconstitution. >> john: and the nra would never exploit a gun tragedy. with me know is john rosenthal co-founder of stop handgun violence and wrote "common sense about kids & guns." thank you for coming on with us tonight. thank you. >> what do you think about what is being considered about the task force. >> i strongly support the second amendment, but as the supreme court ruled the second amendment means you can't ban guns but you can put reasonable restrictions

on how they're sold. in this country there isn't even a simple background check for all gun sales. literally 40% to 50% of gun sold every day are legally sold by private dealers to private individuals, including the mentally ill, and terrorists. al-qaida comes undetected to buy guns at gun shows. and the government says that's fine. the nra has bought and sold congress. they own the republican party. they've intimidated the democrats into submission, and although i think president biden biden's initiatives are just common sense the democrats in the house are going to run scared and the republicans are not going to allow any meaningful legislation to pass. just since newtown, 540 americans have died from gun violence. it's not going to stop until the

public realizes that their congress is more concerned about their jobs than the 20 innocent children killed at newtown, and the 3,000 kids killed every year from gun violence. >> john: i would like to think you're wrong about that, especially considering next year in the midterm the democrats will need an issue to incite the base, but i would like to bring someone who has survived a gun attack. is it enough to the american people to have background checks. >> i absolutely believe so. i have seen that just in my own work. the response we've seen at mayors against illegal guns. 300 plus grassroots porters supporters joining ours ranks and mayors joining us.

>> john: the democrats have dropped this as an issue since the 90s when bill clinton put the assault weapons ban in place. it's been two years since gabby giffords six months since aurora, and nothing is happening happening. does the tragedy in newtown matter any more? there is a new kardashian baby and life moves on. can leaders make this work for us. >> truth is stranger than fiction when it comes to guns in this country. after virginia tech where 52 people were shot, 32 students killed, congress gave immunity to the gun industry so you can't sue them. the gun industry is the only industry in america that is not regulated by the national consumer product safety commission. toy guns are regulated. real guns are not. so what we are seeing is the republicans are already saying

really, really important things like the fiscal cliff is going to dominant congress for the next three months. excuse me, but what isn't important about 87 americans including eight children dying every single day from gun violence? i mean, 3,000 people were killed in the attacks on 9/11. 3,000 americans die every day from guns, and congress does nothing. >> john: well, it's true, and they have done nothing but i think we're seeing renewed interest and vigor from the american people on this issue. stephen, you survived this horrible attack. how did that change your views? were you in favor of banning high capacity magazines beforehand or is that something that hadn't really touched you. >> it wasn't really an issue that affected me personally or interested me affected me.

it wasn't something that affected me personally. but you know after aurora, obviously my views changed and this is something that i became very invested in. just look at newtown everyone in this country is--their mothers, fathers, we've all gone to elementary school, we all share that experience, and for that reason this is so different than anything that has come before. six and seven-year-olds defies understanding, and to not respond to this would be utter failure of the system. you know there is the support with the american people, but it's even growing in congress. we're hearing from people we've never heard from before on this issue. there will always be politicians like senator cruz who wrongly oppose these sorts of measures for all the wrong reasons. to say factually incorrect

things to say any any gun resolution will be unconstitutional. >> john: many nra members support background checks and assault weapon bans. >> responsible gun owners are going absolutely be the heroes and we need an organization. there is a desperate need for a pro-gun safety gun rights organization, and i think that's going to happen. but remember the nra members don't get a vote here. it's the nra board that runs that organization. we're talking about guys who own soldier of fortune magazine, and ted nugent who are extreme nut cases when it comes to guns. >> john: that's a bit of an

offense to nut cases but i see your point and i see little leadership coming from washington, d.c. and the fact that you're out there trying to save lives makes you the real patriots. thank you for your time, thank you for your service. coming up only three things are certain in obama's second term, debt taxes and caving in on debt and taxes--still. every six months without an accident, allstate sends a check. ok. [ voice of dennis ] silence. are you in good hands?

>> john: the only news coming out of dc as 2012 came to an end was the fiscal cliff. congress working through christmas and senators having to work on new year's eve. then they finally came up with a deal on taxes so the issue can be put to rest for a long time. thank god we never have to talk about that any more. >> more taxes? >> we're talking about looking at the tax code, putting everything on the table. >> the tax issue is finished,

completed. that's behind us. >> how much more revenue can we get. >> john: joining me now to discuss why we're till talking about debt and taxes and what we're not talking about as a result are comedian lee kemp, editor in chief at the contributers.com tina dupuy. and sam seder. i'll begin with you sam should we be surprised that 82% of the bush tax cuts have now been made permanent? is this really a victory? >> well, not i think for those people who feel that we need more revenue or those people who feel that this is the best way to some type of economic prosperity. you don't want to impose

austerity on our economy. we need jobs. that's the only conversation that's not happening. it's really the only one that really matters. i think we're seeing the democrats come out and ask for more revenue as a way to turn this whole kabuki theater with a real desire to cut social services programs. if we need to justify more revenue as opposed to cutting social security or social insurance, fine, but it's it really has nothing to do with what is going on around the country. we have 7.8% unemployment, and that's not acceptable. >> john: tina dupuy let me ask you, president obama with the american jobs act, 67% tax cuts. it never made it out of the house. considering that it was 67% tax cuts and the republicans still killed it, what can president obama do to help spur job

creation at this point. >> not much of anything. what we need to stop doing is stop pretending that republicans really care about the debt. they are the one that voted for the bush tax cuts now three times. they are the ones who put two unfunded wars on a credit card, and now they're pretending that they really care about the debt when it comes to poor people getting services. that's what we need to stop pretending right there. what can obama do? what we thought he could do four years ago with a congress like this is anyone's guess. >> john: lee, what's your take? has obama painted himself in a corner he can't go any further on revenue. he's boxed in? >> it's all a catastrophe. it's a logjam and congressional

difficulty. they spent over $50 million just fighting against healthcare.

>> we're talking about the vast amount of american people. now it's being sold as social security cuts as a slight tweak to inflation adjustment which everyone knows it's just a story. it's just a cut by some other name. yeah, i think there is a sense that you do something counter intuitive, the "washington post" will applaud, and that's the end of the story. >> john: well, i want to come back to that note. i also want to ask you what you think of today's decidedly right-wing appointments by the left-wing president. coming up when all is said and done, what will the president's new cabinet look like? older and whiter i guess. more from our panel coming up next.

but when joint pain and stiffness from psoriatic arthritis hit even the smallest things became difficult. i finally understood what serious joint pain is like. i talked to my rheumatologist and he prescribed enbrel. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, and stop joint damage. because enbrel, etanercept suppresses your immune system,

it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections tuberculosis lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores have had hepatitis b have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. [ phil ] get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ doctor ] enbrel, the number one biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. >> john: as hillary clinton finishes a distinguished term as secretary of state critics got in their last lost accusing her of faking a concussion and blood

clot. >> critics who are demanding an apology don't care about mrs. clinton's health. they want to embar race their embarrass their position. >> now i'll go so far as saying that she's not sick. >> john: if he was any more starved for attention it would require an benefits concert. let's come back to our guests tina dupuy, lee camp and sam seder. what is the long-term feud with hillary clinton all about? in the 90s they hated her. in the senate they thought she was dandy, and they now realized if she decides to run there is no one to beat her. are they back

>> john: when you consider that the president has nominated two of the hard line guys. >> they still don't like it. >> john: now that we have john brennan, and i can't imagine a biographer wanting to sleep with him. he scares me through tv. will he bring reform. >> with brennan we've given up on reform in that area.

he knows torture. he loves torture. he's really good at torture. let's put him on for torture. >> john: he does not want to bomb iran. >> he has that going for him. we're talking about treasury secretary, that's coming up, too, it's like just don't--i feel like they're going to say we need to regulate greed. with hagel it could have been better than it would have been. >> john: to nominate paul krugman as head of treasury, which i would love to see. i would like to see luke skywalker run the department of labor. is this going to happen? not that it would happen but can we hope for any progressive reform or someone like that in treasury? >> no. >> john: anybody better than geithner. >> i'm sure there will be people better than geithner, but a lot

of stuff this ship has sailed in a lot of respects in the huge give aways to the banks and in terms of their cull ability. and the program to protect the banks and i don't suspect anyone who we see in that position will have any less of a hostile position towards the banks. >> sam seder from ring of fire. lee camp, and tina dupuy. i hope you'll all come back and join me again? maybe? combing up a few words about our friend and yours. mr. eliot spitzer.

of the middle class. -- into a daily master class on political mall feesance -- whether was going after barclays for bid rigging or something else eliot brought a warmth grace and intelligence after every segment of this show. he was not a c